Initiatives / School on the Move Prize / Prize Selection Panel
Prize Selection Panel
Each year, the School on the Move Prize winner is selected by a dedicated panel of leaders in business, philanthropy, and education. The Selection Panel for the 2024 Prize is:
Jim Stone
Selection Panel Chair, Chairman & CEO, Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation
Jim Stone founded Plymouth Rock in 1982, and has been its CEO ever since. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, where he taught for several years in the 1970’s. He was then named Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance, and in 1979 was named chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Jim now serves as a director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a genetics institute, and of ProPublica, a journalism nonprofit specializing in investigative reporting. He chairs the School on the Move Prize panel for the benefit of the Boston public school system, and he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also chairman emeritus of Management Sciences for Health, an international public health nonprofit. He is the author of numerous articles and “Five Easy Theses: Commonsense Solutions to America’s Greatest Economic Challenges.”
Rosalin Acosta
Managing Director, Ernst & Young LLP
Rosalin Acosta works with labor and workforce development leaders on ways to solve some of the most difficult obstacles facing state governments. As former Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, Rosalin led rebranding of 16 Workforce Investment Boards and 20 career centers to align with the commonwealth’s strategy. Rosalin is a Harvard Business School alumna and a recognized leader, public speaker and cultural ambassador on matters of diversity, motivating youth and Latino Leadership. She has been named one of Boston’s Most Influential Women from the Women of the Harvard Club, El Planeta’s Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics in Massachusetts, and Get Konnected’s 100 Most Influential People of Color in Boston. Her work in her previous roles as Board member of The Boston Foundation, Board Overseer at Boston Children’s Hospital where she was a founding member of Milagros Para Niños, and Corporate Advisory Board member for the Boston Chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) has touched the lives of many.
Phyllis Barajas
Chief Executive Officer, Conexión
Phyllis Barajas is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Conexión, a ten month executive mentoring and leadership experience for mid-career HispanicLatino professionals. Among her other accomplishments, Phyllis was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Education offices of elementary, secondary and bilingual education. Before her appointment, she served as the first HispanicLatino Assistant Dean for Human Resources at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Upon her return to Boston she was the national Director of Human Resource for Houghton Mifflin Publishing. Phyllis serves on numerous boards, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boys and Girls Club Boston, United Way of Boston & Merrimack Valley, and is the first Latina Trustee of Eastern Bank. In 2018 she received the Hispanic Heritage Eastern Bank Community Advocacy award. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Master’s of Education from Boston University.
Peter Bauer
Founder, Mimecast
Peter Bauer is the Co-founder and former CEO of Mimecast, which launched in 2003. Hailing from South Africa originally, Peter moved to the UK to take advantage of the innovation in UK information technology and founded Mimecast soon after. He moved to Boston in 2011 to lead Mimecast’s push into North America. Peter is a technology marketer and business leader with a successful track record and solid experience in starting, growing and leading flourishing businesses in the information technology sector. Peter serves as a board member for the Fay School, Franklin Cummings Tech and The Civic Action Project.
Joyce Beach
Managing Director, Talent Marketplace, State Street
Joyce Beach is the Managing Director, Talent Marketplace at State Street. She is a senior operations leader with extensive experience in business transformation, innovation and organization change within the healthcare and financial services industries. Joyce has been recognized as an innovative advocate and problem solver. Prior to her current role at State Street, Joyce served as the Vice President of Data Analytics & Reporting, the Vice President of Risk and Administration Management and the Vice President of IT and Operations Transformation. Prior to State Street, Joyce was the Director of Diversity at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Raised in Boston and a graduate of English High School, Joyce holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College.
Pam Eddinger
President, Bunker Hill Community College
Pam Eddinger began her tenure at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) in 2013. Dr. Eddinger’s service in the Community College movement spans 30 years, with senior posts in academics and student affairs, communications and policy, and executive leadership. Her board and commission service has included: WGBH Boston, the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Boston Foundation, the Massachusetts Workforce Development Board, the Boston Private Industry Council, the Institute for College Access and Success, the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, Achieving the Dream, and The New England Commission of Higher Education. Dr. Eddinger was honored by the Obama White House as a Champion of Change. Most recently, she was appointed by US Secretary of Labor Martin Walsh to serve as the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Barnard College and her master’s and doctorate in Japanese Literature from Columbia University.
Jack Lynch
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Jack joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) in 2017 as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, bringing with him extensive background in the K–12 education and technology space. Prior to HMH, Jack was the CEO at Renaissance Learning, a leader in K–12 learning analytics, owned by Hellman & Friedman and Google Capital. With more than 25 years of management experience in the software and information industry, Jack is highly respected in the field of education technology. He has been active in the K–12 education industry since 1999 and was the founding CEO of bigchalk.com, where he created an education network serving 40,000 schools. He was later president and CEO of the Pearson Technology Group. Prior to joining Renaissance Learning, Jack was a member of the executive board of Wolters Kluwer. Jack holds a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University and was honored with the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for his leadership.
J. Keith Motley, PhD
Former Chancellor, University of Massachusetts-Boston
Dr. J. Keith Motley served as Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston from 2007-2017. Currently, Dr. Motley serves as a tenured professor in UMass Boston's College of Management and has taught the Leadership Capstone for doctoral students for twelve years. Previous to his appointment as Chancellor, Motley served as Vice President for Business, Marketing, and Public Affairs. Prior to joining the President’s Office, he was the Interim Chancellor of UMass Boston, where he previously had served as Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, following more than 30 years in higher education administration, including 10 years as Dean of Student Services at Northeastern University. Motley also serves on numerous boards with local, regional, and national reach. He was named to the Boston Business Journal's "Power 50" list of Boston-area influencers for five years in a row and one of Get Konnected’s 100 Most Influential People of Color in Boston. Motley holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northeastern University and a doctor of philosophy from Boston College.
